Electrical connection.



W. S. EDMANDS; ELECTRICAL CONNECTION. APPLICATION- FILED JUNE n. 1915.

Patented July 4, 1916.

s; Emrmns, or BOSTON, massncnusn'm'sz I 1 To wii'om it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, WALTER Enna'nns,

a citizen of the United States," residing at Boston, county of Sufi'olk, State of Massa- ,5 chusetts, have invented a certain newand useful'lmprovement in Electrical Connec= tions, of which the following is a specification, reference being had there n to-the ac companying drawings.

10 My inventlon has for its object/anew and improved coupling member for covering up" and securing'together connections for .electr1c wires;

The device embodying my invention is particularly adapted for use'where'it is de- 1 sired to connect electrically a'seriespf adr jacent desks, tablesj-individual mach nes or a like objects so that a lamp or other electrlcal apparatus placed on each may be operated 2o electrically with a amount of electric wiring. Since the desks, tables or machines are heavy and are sometimes moved relatively to each other, the connections must be strong so'that the strain will not break 26 the connections nor injure the insulation. It is also desirable that they be solarranged that they may be quickly and easily disconnected and that all live parts be covered,

when it is necessary to separate the desksso or machines. Also that provision be made so that additional units can be added'to the line when required. Difiiculty has'jbeen found heretofore in maintaining the connections intact, for theconnections are frequently partly separated or become wholly.

detached, or the metal conductor'is exposed which resultsin cutting off the current alto- 'gether or in creating an ai 'c' which may burn the clothesof those working near by. My

40 devicehowever is so constructed that a pair of connections may beheld firmly together so that they cannot be pulled apart, the

'. strain'at-thepoi'nt of-connection bemg taken by a special covering member. This memher also covers up that portion of the Wire which is partly bared of insulation so that a 'firm,,"strong well protected connection is obtained". 4 My invention also includes a unit which may be permanently secured to each desk or other article and to which the lamp oi other electrical apparatus thereon may be connected. This unit is called for convenience the desk unit. 1 The said unit is arranged for connection to the wallplu and an adjacent article of furniture or to we adjacent arnnncrnrcan commcriom Speei fleation Letters' latent. Application flied June 11, .1915. -Seria1No..88,619.

structand'isso constructed as to-prevent ef- I .li'ave 'show'n a well known form of plug Patented J1i1 4.1e1 6.

ticles. Anotherlunit vknownFas the coupling unit "is also provided by which adj a'cent desk units are.connected.'j The device .is preferably secured to the this application of my invention since it may i be employed-in many other circumstances.

The Invention Wlll be fully understood 4 from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawingsand the novel features thereof will-be i pointed out and clearing defined in the claims at the close of'the Specification.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1, is an end view of a desk electrically connected to an adjacent desk and to a wall plug by devices embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation on an enlarged scale of one of the coupling units "and the. adjacent parts of two desk units, Fig. 3 shows one of the coupling units. detached from the other parts. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig.2. I I Referringto the drawings at A, and B are shown P OItIOIIS of two adjacent desks and at' C a'wall plug. Art 11 is shown a molding, I orconduit within which the cable 12 lies,

i-ng strip 13 in the manner commonlyeme ployed in electrical wiring- .At the ends next to the connections, the two'insulate'd wires lei and 15 forming part of thecable 12 are separated and-connected electrically by the binding screws 16 (see Fig.- 2)- to one member 17 o f a pair of iplllg and. socket Y conn ecting members ofl'we 1 'known form.

and socket connecting-member but I do not others may befemployedwith equal success. I Adj acentthe plug and socket connecting member 1, is the other plug and socket con-4 necting member 18. 1 In the drawings, I have shown the member '17 as being. provided so desk or-otherarticle along the end or side being covered or not, as desired, by a .coverlimitrmyself to this particular form since with a malemember or plug 19 and a socket 20 while the member 18 is rovided with a plug 21 and socket 22. he connecting member 18 is electrically connected with the two wires 23 and 24 of a piece of cable forming part of the coupling unit. This cable extends to the wall plug, to the adjacent desk or to the piece of electrical apparatus thereon as the case may be. The cable 25 in the drawings extends to one connecting member 26-0f another pair of connecting members located on the adjacent article of furniture. It will therefore be seen that two units are formed one of which for con- I hole 28 permits the passage of the cable 25 and two other holes permit the passage of screws or bolts 29 and 30. The two connecting members 17 and 18 have holes 31 and 32 registering therewith to permit the passage of the said screws or bolts 29 and 30.

The twowires 23 and 2.4 forming the cable 25 of the coupling unit are inserted through an aperture-28 in the covering member 27. Then two knots 33 and34 are tied in the wires 23 and 2 1 which are then secured to the connecting members by the binding screws 16.

v The covering member 27 lies with itsshort leg resting against the bottom of the wire groove in the molding and with its long leg resting against the outer face of the wo connecting members 17. and- 18 with the holes wherein in registration with the corresponding holes in the connecting members.

ering member 27 to the connecting members 17 and 18 and securing the whole "to the desk. In the drawings I have shown the use of wood screws which pass through the covering member, the connecting members, and into the wood of which the conduit 11 is made, but it will be understood that'fastemng means appropriate to the material and structure of the conduit and article of furniture will beemployed. It will be seen that anystrain placed upon the cable 25 will be taken by the covering member 27 since the knots 33 and 3 1 are drawn against it and there will befno strain tending to pull the wires 23 and 24 out from under the binding screws 16. It will also be seen that the strain on the wire 25' does not tend to pull the connecting members apart because The bolts or screws 29. and 30 are then inserted thus securingthe covi this strain is taken by the covering strip 27. The construction at the other end of the cable 25 is identical. .When it is desired to disconnect the two articles of furniture the tw screws 29 and 30 are removed after which the connections may be pulled apart. I emplo a similar connection to connect the desk unit with the lamp cable '36. The parts of this connection are held together by the covering member 37 and two screws 38. In practice a desk unit is secured to each desk or other article of furniture or individual machine and is connected to the lamp or other piece of electrical apparatus thereon. Adjacent desks are connected by coupling units and the desk at one end of the line is connected to the floor plug by the cable 39,

while the desk at the other end of the line' is preferably furnished with a covering member over the unconnected connecting member to present a uniform appearance and make it easy to connect up the next article should another be added.

It will be understood that the desk unit may be made of any desired length, likewise the coupling units, so that desks of any size may be coupled together, and so that they may be placed at any desired distance apart. What I claim is: 1. The electric connection comprising 1n combination, two connecting members at least one of which has a plug and the other a socket for connecting said two members, each of said two members having a cable connected therewith, and" a covering tie member which is rigidly secured to both of said connecting members and ties them together and has an aperture through which the cable of one of said connecting members passes, saidlast cable being provided with a .strain take-up on the inner side of said aperture which prevents the strain on the cable from being transmitted to the two connecting members, and means for detachably and rigidly securing said connecting members to an article which is to be electrically connectedwith another article.

2. The electric connection comprising in combination, two connecting members at least one of which has a plug and the pther a socket for connecting said two members, each of saidtwo members having a cable connected therewit a covering tie member which is'rigidly secured to both of said connecting members and ties them together and.

has an aperture through which the cable of one of said connecting members passes, saidlast cable being provided with a strain takeup on the inner side of said aperture which prevents the strain on the cable from being transmitted to the two connecting members and means whereby said covering ,member' may be fastened to a desk or other support. 3. The electric connection, comprising in combination, a pair of male and female connecting members, a U-shaped covering memone leg longer than the other, and a. cable passing through the said aperture in the covering member and knotted on the inside of the'covering member, the longleg of said covering member being rigidly secured to both of said connecting members along one face, and the short leg lying in the plane of the other face of said connecting member.-

4. The electric connection comprising in combination, a pair of male and female connecting members, a U-shaped member havingone leg rigidly connected to both of said connecting members and having an aperture through its head, and a cable connected with one of said connecting members and passing through said aperture, said cable being provided with a stop on the inner side of said aperture which revents strain on the cable from being tra smitted to said connecting member.

5. In combination with two articles which are to'be electrically connected together, a

pair of members detachably secured to each of said articles, at least one of each pair of members having a plug and the other member having an aperture therein and havlng ber of each pair having a socket for connecting said two members together, a tie member for each pair which isrigidly secured to both members of the pair and ties them together,.each of said tie members having an aperture, a cable, one end of, which passes through the aperture in thetie member on one 0 said articles, the other end of which asses through. the aperture in the tie memher on the other of said articles, and a strain take-up on the'inner side of each of said apertures which prevents the strain on the cable from being transmitted to either pair of said connecting members, said cable being electrically connected with one member of.

each pair of connecting members, and separate cables electrically connected with the other member of both pairs of connecting members. i In testimon whereofI aflix my signature,

in presence 0 two witnesses.

WALTER S. EDMANDS. Witnesses:

Gnoncn P. Dmn,

Amen H. Monmson. 

